I made the claim that the FBI declared the Black Panthers dangerous, not because they were Black nationalists or supremacists. They weren't.
They were dangerous because they preached racial *solidarity*.
But don't take my word for it!
Listen to Fred Hampton's own words.
Turn on closed captions.
@mekkaokereke Even this white girl figured that out from... oh, I don't even remember what.
@mekkaokereke So good.
@mekkaokereke Yup, and the Black Panthers practiced solidarity, too! For example, the nascent disability rights movement in the United States was helped out by the Black Panthers.
Early disability rights activists credit the Panthers with giving them advice and support, as well as spreading word about their organizing. The Panthers also brought food every day to the Section 504 sit-in.
https://disabilityhistory.org/2021/12/19/the-504-protests-and-the-black-panther-party/
https://emergingamerica.org/blog/brad-lomax-disabled-black-panther-who-fought-section-504
#DisabilityRights #DisabilityJustice #DisabilityHistory
You don't have to agree with 100% of what Fred Hampton or the Black Panthers said or did.
And you shouldn't change any of your core values because of anything he says. Not one.
My question is: how many of his core beliefs, and the beliefs of the Black Panthers, align with your core beliefs?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tF7_2VckKNQ&t=504s
This is the most dangerous thought that the Panthers vocalized:
"We don't fight fire with fire. We fight fire with water. We don't fight racism with more racism. We fight racism with solidarity."
"No matter what color you are, there's only two classes.... But this class has divided itself..."
@mekkaokereke I think Fred Hampton understood the difference between wealthy working class, and the Capitalidt class - You're safe.
Unfortunately, no. On this point, Fred Hampton and many of his followers (some of whom are close friends!), and I disagree. It's OK to disagree!
My position is that it is possible to separate capitalism from racism, and possible to separate trade and commerce from capitalism. My position is that owning property and renting it to other people to live in, is not only not evil, but can be good. My position is that owning entire companies, or shares in companies, is not necessarily evil. Yes I'm an employee. But I also own shares in many companies, and have owned entire other companies. I own land. I've been CEO of companies with hundreds of employees, vendors, and contractors. I help startup companies. My position is that rich people that are evil and sociopathic, are more dangerous to poor people than rich people that are kind and pro-social. My position is that history has shown that socialism with evil leadership, is just as harmful as capitalism with evil leadership, so the most important dimension is "evil." My position is that allowing capitalism to influence politics, has created the horrific feedback loop where instead of politicians causing capital to be applied for the good of society, capital influences politicians at the expense of society.
Fred Hampton would call me a "Black capitalist," which he viewed as a self-defeating half measure. He would argue that it is not coincidental that racism and capitalism were invented at basically the same time. He would say that separating ownership of a company from labor in a company, inevitably leads to sociopathic outcomes, the only degree is "how much, how soon." He would say that's irrelevant, because the real answer will always be "a little more than last year." He would say that we are aligned on only the most obvious of things: (fascism bad! Vaccines good!) but that I'm not ready for the big change needed to move society forwards: letting go of capitalism for socialism. He would argue that whether a wealthy person is kind or evil, is irrelevant to the harms done by the very existence of wealthy people in the first place. A kind elephant that makes a mistake, or a malevolent elephant that sits on you on purpose, squashes you just the same.
@mekkaokereke @Reddog I would push back hard on the idea that racism and capitalism were invented concurrently. If that were true then we would have expected to see the Industrial Revolution somewhere like Haiti instead of Britain. I think we dramatically overestimate when capitalism became the Big Thing instead of an idea of some economic theory.
You're welcome to push back (on other people 🙂). My only suggestion before you do that, is that you read a few books on racial capitalism first. Read books by Cedric Robinson, Angela Davis, Eric Williams etc.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qhh3CMkngkY
And I recommend that you explore where the capital that funded the industrial revolution in England came from. Hint: transatlantic slavery, which depended on racism. I'd recommend Capitalism and Slavery for the Williams Thesis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism_and_Slavery
And I recommend that you read up on Henry the Navigator of Portugal, and Gomes Zurara. Yes, slavery existed before them. Yes, prejudice existed before them. But the modern concept of racism, just like the modern concept of fascism, was invented by very specific people, on very specific days, for a very specific purpose: to justify slavery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomes_Eanes_de_Zurara
This isn't an invitation to debate (me). I'm just providing information that the college professors that you will debate on whether capitalism and racism were invented concurrently will have, so that you can have a fair fight.
Good luck!
Ultimately, the only thing that matters is if the rank and file of society have ultimate authority over their lives and ring fence any economic or political decision-making power of the few.
Economic consolidation in the form of wealth or business activity is economic decision-making power as well as quite often being political decision-making power.
Everyone affected by a decision should have a say in that decision.
I suggest that if you think capitalism is good, then you don't understand what is meant by it by the people who invented the word and the people who analyze its function today calling it evil.
The following paper by economists from anarchist tradition (different from Hampton's Marxist one) suggest that Capitalism is, properly understood, an extortion racket.
https://bnarchives.net/id/eprint/760/3/20230100_bn_the_business_of_strategic_sabotage.html
interesting conversation. and i watched judas and the black messiah last night. good movie, but horrendous story.
for centuries, the practice of capitalism has been predatory, but it needn’t be.
capitalism is not inherently evil — it is neutral in terms of morality, which is why it is destroying the environment.
imo the biggest problem is the lie that free markets / systems are “self-correcting”. (or the assumption “free” markets can even exist).
UNregulated capitalism results in evil.
the land on which we live and work has already been distributed. people can only acquire it by paying for it, or stealing it. those with no land rarely have the means to provide for themselves. in this sense, labour is coerced.as there is no free entry or exit from work markets and no equal bargaining power, many people have inadequate, dangerous, expensive work and so on.
society (government) must provide “landless” people with the means to provide for themselves (access to safe meaningful work, wages adequate to provide shelter and so on) as a fair exchange for expecting landless people to accept the existence of property/ land title rights.
this requires govt to intervene in markets.
race might be nonsense but caste is real. i think that foul “ape” video from the white house showed you can (as isabel wilkerson said) act your way out of class, but not caste.
i would trust BPP before putting my trust in any form of law enforcement.
finally, in terms of efficiency/ morality, there is little difference between global.mega-corporations and old style soviet planning committees. at some limit corporations cease to become accountable to the citizens of an economy, or to shareholders.
I agree with Hampton and suggest we need law that limits the size of wealth and outlaws monopolies, prioriizes small businesses that provide goods, and funds public arts and science so everyone can benefit and enjoy. Eliminating the elephant, benign or not, makes it easier to gain a fair share for all the other sizes of existance. I have worked in a corporation, run my own small business, and I farm. The sastem is geared toward growth. Get big or get out they tell you. That has to change. There is no way to downsize that philosophy. Its unnatural. Natural systems are robust because they 'waste' resources by having multiple redundant feedback loops and participants.
@mekkaokereke @Reddog I cried for a week when Fred Hampton was assassinated. I will never forget the photos of the bullet riddled room where he died.
@mekkaokereke Fred Hampton's ability to connect class struggle across races is what made him so dangerous, why they killed him.
As an undergrad, my student group hosted a Fred Hampton Day (each year, I think).
We mostly got puzzled looks at our posters that said "I am Fred Hampton." Except for the people that appeared there as part of CIA programs (this was in DC). They were not puzzled, I don't think.
@D_J_Nathanson @mekkaokereke my kids last year got a new understanding of the BPP when we visited Alcatraz: they practiced solidarity standing with the Native American occupation of the island.
Here's the ironic part:
I am Black. But by any reasonable definition of the term, I am wealthy. No matter how much you might hear me complain about silly things like how expensive EVs in the US are, or the cost of health insurance, or the price of gas, or the price of eggs, or Bay Area real estate prices, or college student loan debt, or prescription drug prices, or my stonks.🤷🏿♂️
I am Black and wealthy.
So the important question: if you are poor and white, do Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers see themselves as more aligned with your struggle, or mine?
When Fred Hampton said he wanted a revolution, was he talking about overthrowing you, or overthrowing me?
When he talked about "Getting in the streets," was he talking about hurting me? Or helping you, by giving your kids free vaccines and free school lunch?
Are his "dangerous ideas" more dangerous for you? Or for me?
Is he my "messiah" or yours?
@mekkaokereke You are perfectly right. Poor whites and poor blacks should be allies. And rich people know that! So the hidden purpose of racism (at least in the U.S.) was always also preventing poor black and white people to unite.
Divide et impera: Poor white MAGA voters trusting the old white billionaire who's taking away their jobs, healthcare, and SNAP over his black predecessor who gave it to them is a perfect example. And rich whites loathe poor whites ... they call them even trash!
@mekkaokereke I absolutely agree with you, but why are most rich people so afraid of losing their money?
Because you only get rich if you keep the money tight?
How can we convince rich people that, congrats, they're rich, now share some?
Why is anybody scared by a Messiah distributing goods?
@ligasser I think it is important to understand rich people are not simply people who are rich, and that most belong to a class of people who exploit and extract wealth from an underclass. Engaging in that process has an impact on them just as it impacts the exploited. The activities and relationships we engage in shape us. So you have to ask, how is a person who's world was shaped by dominating the masses of people likely to think about any challenge to that privilege?
Agree, the psychology of people who make money via extractive versus creative enterprise is very different.
@mekkaokereke really love these thought provoking posts from you. Just 🔥
@mekkaokereke I have enormous respect for the Black Panthers. The more I learn about them and what they actually did, the more I understand why an establishment that thrives on division, inequality, and power was so threatened by them.
@mekkaokereke Fred Hampton is an inspiration to all working Americans.
@mekkaokereke literally every core belief I have aligns with the BPP
